


Harry Potter and the Muggle Next Door

by hapakitsune



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fic amnesty, Gen, Harry Potter/George Weasley - Freeform, Muggles, Percy Weasley/Audrey - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7333351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hapakitsune/pseuds/hapakitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took Harry a month to realize that his next-door neighbour was, miraculously, a Muggle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harry Potter and the Muggle Next Door

**Author's Note:**

> I started this fic about six years ago. Every so often I rediscover it, poke at it a bit, and then return it to the depths of my WIP folder. I dusted it off today and added the ending. Bit rough, but it was born out of a few of desires: 1. to see more Muggles in the HP universe that were portrayed positively, 2. to explore the ramifications the war would have had beyond the wizarding community, and 3. to meet Percy's wife Audrey. Thus: this fic.

It took Harry a month to realize that his next-door neighbour was, miraculously, a Muggle. She had somehow either not noticed, or simply not cared, that her flat was much larger than it should have been, and Harry had no idea how she had even gotten past the landlord, who had surely recognized that he probably shouldn’t rent a flat to a Muggle in an all-wizarding building. 

Nevertheless, she had managed to acquire a flat and she seemed to be doing all right. Harry had the sneaking suspicion that she might have the faintest hint of magic herself, if not remotely strong enough to get her an education, because theoretically the building should have been invisible to Muggles. 

He realized she must be a Muggle after the fourth or fifth time he passed her in the hall without even the faintest flicker of recognition in her wide, dark eyes. He almost turned back to say something, but she had already disappeared down the stairs and out of sight. 

The next time he saw her, she was fumbling with her keys while carrying a large, heavy-looking package – another telltale sign, he realized. He called, “Let me help,” and he hurried to her side to help her with the package. He took it off her hands and she let out a grateful sigh.

She got her key in the lock and smiled up at him. She was quite short, with skin as dark as his and thick black hair. “Thank you,” she said gratefully and she accepted the package back from him. “You know, I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. Would you like to come in for some tea?” 

Harry, who had mostly planned on either watching television or maybe going on the computer that he had just bought himself, said, “All right,” and followed her inside the flat. 

Like every other flat in the building, it was significantly larger inside than it logically should be. His neighbour bustled around, setting her package down on the kitchen table and absently tidying up a small stack of magazines before turning back to look at Harry. “My name is Audrey Phillips,” she said with a smile. “I think your name is Harry, right? I’ve heard some of the others call you that.” 

Harry blinked at her and then nodded, slowly. “Yes,” he said. “My name is Harry Potter.” 

She looked him over and though her eyes stopped on his scar, her eyes didn’t widen in shock or recognition. Instead, she just said, “That’s a nasty-looking scar. How did you get it?”

He looked at her for a long moment, debating his options. Finally, he settled on, “In a car accident when I was a baby.” 

Audrey covered her mouth, looking shocked. “That’s horrible.”

“I was lucky,” Harry said woodenly. He thought vaguely that it should have stopped hurting, but he still felt a sharp pang of sadness when he thought about it. “My parents were killed.” 

“You’re an orphan?” asked Audrey, sounding sympathetic. “So am I.” She moved to the stove and put on a kettle. “My parents were killed when I was fifteen. No one ever figured out how it happened.” 

Harry stared at her back. Audrey was roughly the same age as him; he wondered if Death Eaters had killed her parents. He resolved to look into the issue and see if he could help her at all. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. 

“It’s all right,” Audrey said with a shrug. “I had an old teacher who took me in. It wasn’t as bad as it might have been.” She cast a sidelong, curious look at Harry. “What about you?”

“My aunt,” he said shortly. She seemed to realize that it wasn’t a good topic to pursue, and turned back to her cupboards. 

“What kind of tea would you like?” she asked, opening them up to look inside. “I’ve got pretty much everything you can think of.” 

“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Harry answered. He leaned back against her counters, which were really very nice. He knew that the flats were enchanted to reflect the tastes of their owners and Audrey seemed to like very nice appliances, he notes, looking at the shiny stove and the gleaming refrigerator. Aunt Petunia would have given away her prize pearl necklace to have this kitchen. 

He surreptitiously narrowed his eyes at the kettle and muttered a warming spell under his breath to speed it up. The kettle started whistling a moment later and Audrey said, “Blimey, that was quick.” She turned off the flame and poured the water into two mismatched mugs. “Sugar? Milk?” 

“I can do it,” Harry said, accepting a mug that was the same vivid green as his eyes. He turned to the refrigerator and asked, “In here?” 

She nodded, scooping some sugar into her tea. “I’ll have some too.”

Harry poured a generous dollop of milk into his tea and passed the bottle to Audrey. He went to take a seat at the kitchen table, eying the package with interest. 

“Who’s the package from?” he asked Audrey as she put the milk away. She smiled over at him. 

“It was my birthday last week,” she explained. “My old teacher always sends me a nice gift. She won’t tell me what it is, though. She’s awful like that.” 

“Well, go on,” Harry coaxed. “Open it. Gifts are great, no reason to put it off.” 

“Well, all right,” she said. She pulled out her keys and used one to slice the tape on the box. She opened up the flaps and looked inside. “Oh my,” she said and she pulled out another box. “She sent me an ice cream maker.” 

Harry couldn’t help grinning at Audrey’s half-surprised, half-excited voice. “Good gift, then?” he asked, sipping his tea. 

“Brilliant gift,” she said brightly. She took it over to the counter and set it down. “I emailed her about how I kept trying to make ice cream the way we did in school. You know, shaking it in plastic bags,” she added when Harry gave her a blank look. 

“I never did that at school,” he told her.

“That’s tragic,” she said, returning to the table. She shoved the box off the table and took a gulp of tea. “Where did you go to school? I just moved back from going to uni in America.” 

“I, uh,” Harry said, stalling desperately as he tried to think of a good lie. “I went to a school in Australia,” he invented wildly, thinking of the time Hermione had spent there with her parents. 

Audrey made a noise of either impressed surprise or just acknowledgement. Fortunately, she changed the subject before he had to make up any more lies and asked him if he had seen the latest of the James Bond films. Harry, through some twist of fate, actually had, and the two of them discuss it until Harry realizes that he should get back to his flat so he can phone Teddy like he promised. 

“It was nice meeting you, Audrey,” he told her sincerely. 

“Drop by any time,” she replied, smiling. “I don’t have much to do. Just working on my thesis.” 

“All right,” Harry said. He could feel himself smiling and he realized that he liked Audrey. She was down-to-earth and normal and above all, she didn’t know anything about his past. It was nice. “See you later.” 

 

The next day, as he had no case to work on, Harry looked through the files from the War. He found, under the letter ‘P,’ _Phillips, Amelia_ and _Phillips, Evan_. He pulled the files out and took them back to his desk. He nodded to Ron, who was talking to his new partner, and started leafing through the files. 

The information wasn’t pleasant. The couple had been found dead, with evidence of having been tortured first, and the Aurors had no leads. Harry sighed and set it aside. His suspicions were confirmed; Audrey’s parents had, indeed, been killed by Death Eaters. 

He leaned back in his seat and debated sending a memo to Lisa Turpin, who had spent the past few years compiling information on which Muggles had been killed or tortured during the war with the intent of giving their families some kind of subtle reparations. He gave in to the temptation and scribbled down a note to her. He folded the paper into an airplane and sent it off with a wave of his wand. 

Ron leaned back over his seat and called, “Harry, mate, you coming down to the pub tonight?” 

“Which pub?” Harry asked, looking up. 

“Any pub,” Ron said. “Maybe one of the other ones.” That was Ron’s way of referring to Muggle pubs without shouting it across the room. 

“Only if I can bring someone,” Harry said, remembering what Audrey had said about working on her thesis. He thought she could use a break. 

Ron frowned, looking confused. “Harry, you have a date?” 

“Not a date,” Harry said. “A friend. You’ll like her.” 

Ron eyed Harry suspiciously, but decided not to ask any further questions. “Okay,” he said. “Meet at yours?”

“Sure,” Harry said and he made a note to drop by Audrey’s to invite her out. 

 

About an hour after lunch, a memo fluttered onto his desk. It was from Lisa Turpin. 

_Harry –  
I’m not sure why you’re asking after Ms. Phillips, but I can tell you that I ensured that she got into the graduate program she wanted and helped her get a flat in a wizarding building where she’d be safe and have a nice place to live. _

_Let me know if you have any other questions.  
\- Lisa_

He folded the memo and reflected that he had an answer to at least one of his questions. He turned back to his reports and added some notes to the report that one of the new Aurors had written for him. 

He left work on time for once and headed home. He knocked on Audrey’s door and waited until she came out, looking confused. “Hey,” he said, smiling. “A few friends of mine are heading down to the pub. I thought you might want a break from your thesis.” 

Audrey’s face creased into a huge smile. “Thank you, that’s really sweet! I’d love to come. What time were you thinking?” 

“I’m not sure,” Harry said, realizing that he hadn’t asked. “My friend Ron was planning on swinging by before we left.”

“Sounds good.” She smiled and said, “I’m just going to be typing away. You want to sit and watch the telly or something?” 

“Nah, I’d better be in my own flat for when he gets here,” Harry said. “But thanks.” He smiled at her and waved a little awkwardly before ducking out of the flat and heading into his. 

Ron showed up around seven and let himself into Harry’s flat. “So this friend of yours,” he said with a sly grin. “She’s not a date?” 

“She’s a Muggle,” Harry said and Ron frowned. “Apparently,” Harry explained, “Lisa got her this flat.” 

Ron’s expression cleared with understanding. “Her parents were murdered.” 

Harry nodded. “Around our fifth year.” 

“And, so, what?” Ron frowned at him. “Are you trying to help her?” 

“No, I just like her,” Harry said. “She’s nice.” 

“But Harry, she’s a _Muggle_ ,” Ron protested. “You know that it’s dangerous to be friends with Muggles.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Harry said stoutly, clapping Ron on the shoulder. “Just try to talk about normal things.” 

“Like what?” demanded Ron incredulously. 

“I dunno – Bill and Fleur’s kid?” Harry suggested as he led Ron out. He knocked on Audrey’s door and looked at Ron. “Just – try, okay? Turn the question back to her if you have to.” 

Audrey opened the door. She had changed from her loose sweatshirt and jeans from earlier into a slightly nicer pair of jeans and v-neck sweater. She beamed up at the two of them. “Harry, you didn’t say your friend was a redhead,” she said with interest. “I love redheads.” 

“Unfortunately he has a girlfriend,” Harry said when Ron just turned red, apparently not knowing what to say. “But he does have three unmarried brothers.” 

“Excellent,” Audrey said, clapping her hands together. “You must introduce me to them sometime.” She held out her hand to Ron. “Audrey Phillips.”

“Ron Weasley,” he said, coming out of his trance to shake her hand politely. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Audrey shut her door and said, “So where are we off to?”

 

Hermione had picked the place, as she knew how to pick Muggle pubs from “poorly spent summer holidays.” She was waiting for them with Ginny, who got to her feet and kissed Harry on the cheek. On her finger was a brand new engagement ring, which Harry pointed out, impressed and jealous in equal parts.

“Yes, Justin finally proposed,” she said cheerfully. “Took him long enough, I was ready to come see if you were willing to give dating another go.”

Hermione coughed and caught Harry’s eye. “Aren’t you going to introduce your friend?” she asked with a small smile, nodding towards Audrey. Harry blinked and then felt like smacking his forehead. 

“Yeah, uh, this is my neighbour, Audrey Phillips. Audrey, this is Ginny, Ron’s sister, and Hermione, his wife.” Over Audrey’s head, he mouthed, _Muggle_ , at them so they’d know. Hermione’s brows contracted in a frown, but she smiled pleasantly enough at Audrey. 

“It’s nice to get out,” Audrey said with a happy sigh, sinking into the leather seat of their booth. “I feel like I haven’t seen the sun in days.” 

Hermione asked why, and when she learned Audrey was working on her thesis in Chemistry (Harry shuddered at the thought, remembering Dudley’s own troubles with the subject), the two of them fell into close conversation. 

“Is she your new girlfriend?” Ginny asked with interest, scooting closer to Harry. “When did you last date someone, anyway?” 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Harry said automatically. He had to think about the second question and finally came up with, “I went out with Oliver about three months ago.” Ron looked as though he very much wanted to laugh at this.

Ginny gave him a pitying look. “Harry, this dry spell is just pathetic,” she informed him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say the trauma of losing me ruined your mojo.”

“Mojo?” Harry asked. He eyed her suspiciously. “Have you been watching Hermione’s TV?”

“Maybe,” Ginny said. “That’s not the point here, Harry. The point is that you haven’t had sex in three months –”

“We didn’t actually have sex,” Harry said, because he and Oliver had just ended up getting drunk while talking about Quidditch teams and had passed out on Harry’s giant bed without even kissing. 

“That’s even worse!” Ginny exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air over-excitedly. “Harry, you’re _The Man Who Wouldn’t Fucking Die, The Chosen One_ , and yet you can’t get a date?” 

Ron snorted into his beer and Harry gave him a glare. “Traitor,” Harry accused and Ron shrugged cheerfully.

“It is a bit pathetic, mate,” he said unrepentantly. “Even that git Malfoy has managed to get himself hitched.”

“Please,” Ginny said with a grimace, holding up her hands. “My fragile brain can’t take the images.”

“Imagine,” Ron continued with an evil smile, “there’ll be little Malfoys running around soon –”

Harry and Ginny both smacked him at the same time. Hermione looked up irritably and demanded, “What on earth are you doing to my husband?” 

“He is a sick man,” Harry said sincerely. Audrey snickered, looking amused, and leaned back in her seat. 

“So what do you all do, anyway?” she asked lazily. “Hermione here seems to know everything ever, so I’m assuming she’s a dictionary in her everyday life –”

“Hey!” squawked Hermione, affronted. 

“She’s a...lawyer,” Harry said, not exactly lying. Hermione shot him an amused look. 

“Activist,” she added with a small smile. “Gin’s a writer and Harry and Ron –” She hesitated. 

“Law enforcement,” Harry said. 

“You’re police?” Audrey asked, sounding surprised. Harry and Ron exchanged glances. 

“Not exactly,” Ron hedged. He’d gotten fixated on American cop dramas about a year ago and seemed to mostly think that _Law and Order_ showed what it was like to be a Muggle police officer. 

Audrey’s eyes lit with understanding. “Ah,” she said knowingly, tapping the side of her nose. “Spooks.” 

Hermione quickly disguised her laugh as cough and promptly choked on her virgin margarita. Harry glared at her while Audrey looked even more curious. “It’s complicated,” Harry told her. 

She nodded knowingly and got up to get the next round. Harry glared at Hermione and muttered, “I could be a spy.” 

“Of course you could, sweetheart,” she said calmly, patting his hand. “By the way, Ron and I have news.” She glanced over at Ron, who smiled widely. “We’re going to have a baby.” 

Ginny and Harry both gasped, amazed. Harry was the first to react, punching Ron in the shoulder and saying, “You should have told me this is why you wanted to go out!” 

Ginny was busy hugging Hermione, grinning hugely. “This is brilliant! Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” 

“No idea,” Hermione admitted. 

“I’m hoping for a girl,” Ron said with a grin. “A little Hermione running around, wouldn’t that be nice?”

Harry blinked at Hermione, who looked like she was trying to hide a smile. “I don’t know if the world is ready for another Hermione,” Harry opined. “It’s not an insult,” he hastened to add when Ron started to frown. “It’s just, Hermione is – oh, I’m bollixing this all up.” 

“Yes you are,” Ginny agreed, smirking. 

Audrey arrived back at the table, bearing drinks. She slid one to Hermione and said, “Non-alcoholic, right?” 

“Yes, thank you, Audrey,” Hermione said and she sipped while Harry accepted the beer and took a long pull. 

They stayed for a few hours just chatting, sticking to stories about family and friends so they didn’t accidentally slip up in front of Audrey. Harry didn’t particularly want to obliviate her.

Harry and Audrey returned to their apartment building more than a little intoxicated. Audrey leaned on him heavily, singing a Muggle pop song loudly (“You are my fire,” she crooned to a passing man, who laughed uproariously). Harry managed to get the two of them back without undue problem and made sure Audrey made it into her flat before returning to his and collapsing into bed. 

He woke up suddenly at around four in the morning, not entirely sure what had woken him. He sat still, listening closely to the sounds of his flat. He rolled out of bed, grabbing his wand off his bedside table, and paced lightly to his front door. He whispered, “ _Homenum revelio_ ,” and saw that there were two people outside, standing in front of Audrey’s door. He pressed his ear to the door and heard a low male voice say, “ _Alohomora_ ,” and Harry knew something was wrong

He opened his door and saw the two men – one tall and burly, the other short and a bit weedy – trying to force their way inside Audrey’s door. Without thinking, he shouted, “ _Expelliarmus!_ ” and the weedy man’s wand flew out of his hand. Harry caught it and stupefied him, then disarmed the larger man and sent him flying to the ground. Harry stepped over the unconscious man and stood over the large intruder, glaring. 

“Who are you?” he demanded, pointing his wand at the man’s face. He glares at him and snaps, “Do you know who I am?” 

The man spat and growled, “You’re Harry bloody Potter.” 

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “And I defeated Voldemort when I was seventeen, do you think I’m going to hesitate to hurt you? Tell me who you are.” 

The man glared and Harry pressed his foot into the man’s chest. “Mulciber,” he spat furiously. “Here to avenge the Dark Lord.” 

“Well, you picked the wrong flat, mate.” Harry jerked his head towards the unconscious Death Eater. “Who’s the other one?”

“Richard Wilkes,” he choked out when Harry pressed harder on his chest. “Another loyal follower of the Dark Lord.” 

Harry sighed and said, “You lot should learn better. He’s dead and gone and this time he’s not coming back. I made sure of that.” He stupefied Mulciber before he could say anything else and tied the two of them up with a flick of his wand. He cast a Patronus, and recorded a message for Ron before sending it on its way. 

It was only after the stag had galloped away that he saw Audrey peeking out of her door, her eyes huge. “Am I still drunk?” she asked in a quivery voice, “or did you just make a deer appear out of your – is that a wand?”

Harry looked down at his wand, then at the unconscious Death Eaters, and then back to Audrey. She didn’t seem frightened, exactly; more curious and confused. “Um,” he said. “Yes?” 

She opened her door wider and stepped out, tugging the edges of an oversized grey sweater tight against her chest. “You – you’re a wizard,” she said slowly. “And that message, you said Ron – so they’re all. They all have.” She stopped, and her eyes went wide. “Everyone in this bloody building are magic, aren’t they?” 

Harry winced and was about to say something when Ron popped into existence next to Harry. Ron opened his mouth to speak, then spotted Audrey and said, “Oh, shit.” 

“She already saw me send the Patronus,” Harry said to Ron. 

“Do we have to obliviate her?” Ron asked, wincing. “I don’t – it seems –”

“We won’t,” Harry said firmly, “and if anyone wants to argue, they can come to me. Audrey’s my friend, I’m not going to go mucking about in her head.”

“Cheers for that,” Audrey said faintly. “Could one of you please explain what the fucking hell is going on?” 

“You want to take that?” Ron said. 

“Coward,” Harry accused as Ron took hold of the two Death Eaters. “Their names are Mulciber and Wilkes,” he added. “Get them to the Ministry.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” muttered Ron, and he disapparated with a pop. 

Audrey was still staring at Harry, her arms folded across her chest, her eyes narrowed. “I think you owe me an explanation,” she said when Harry looked at her. 

“All right, yeah,” Harry said. “Can I come in?” 

Harry made them both tea with a wave of his wand. Audrey sniffed at her mug suspiciously, then seemed to decide that it was safe. She sipped slowly, watching Harry expectantly. Harry, meanwhile, was trying to figure out where to start. Finally, he said, “When I told you my parents died in a car crash, that was a lie. The truth is that my parents were murdered by a wizard named Voldemort. He tried to kill me, too, but my mum died to protect me, so he wasn’t able to.” Harry pointed at his scar. “That’s what this is from.” 

Audrey set her mug down and waited, not asking any questions. Harry took a deep breath and set about explaining in as general terms as he could. Audrey listened without comment, her face blank of expression, but she drummed her fingers on her thigh as though she were nervous. 

When he was finished, she picked her mug up again and took a long gulp before saying quietly, “That’s quite a story, Harry.”

“There’s a little more,” Harry said, feeling guilty even as he began to speak. “I looked into our files at the Ministry of Magic and found that your parents were killed by Death Eaters during the war. It’s the reason you were able to get this apartment.”

“What do you mean?” asked Audrey, frowning. 

“A woman I know started a project to provide reparations to Muggles – sorry, non-magical people – who lost family members during the war. I guess she decided that a nice place to live would be appropriate for you.” Harry shrugged in response to Audrey’s sceptical expression. “I don’t know, it’s what she said.”

“So your friends,” she said after a moment. “They’re all magical?” 

“Yes,” he replied. “Hermione probably won’t approve of me telling you all of this, but she’ll understand. She hated having to obliviate her parents.” 

Audrey sat quietly for a few moments, taking it all in. “Well,” she said. “That’s my worldview gone and buggered.” She stood up and offered him a wry smile. “I’ll have to think about all of this, Harry. I appreciate your candour, but this is a lot to take in.”

“I understand. I’ll see myself out.” Harry stood up as well. “Thank you for listening.” 

She accompanied him to the door and bolted it behind him. He listened to the bolt slide home and resolved to ask if she wanted some wards for the flat. Later, obviously. Once she’d had some time to digest it all. 

 

As it happened, Harry got a new case that week, a tough one involving the smuggling of dark artefacts out of Great Britain and into Continental Europe. Between liaising with the European Aurors, tracking down the fences, interrogating suspects, and finding any Muggles affected, he was hardly home long enough to grab a few hours’ sleep before he was on the go again. When it was all over, he came back to his flat and slept for thirteen hours straight. 

When he woke up, it was to a note on his door from Audrey inviting him over for tea. He risked a knock at her flat and smiled sheepishly when she answered. 

“Is it all right if I take you up on that offer now?” he asked. “I’ve got nothing to eat at mine.”

Audrey smirked. “I thought I was the starving student. Yes, come in, please.” She welcomed him in and invited him to help himself to whatever was in the fridge. He made himself a sandwich, Muggle-style because part of him enjoyed it, and sat down at her table while she started up a kettle. The surface was strewn with papers—and not chemistry, he noted as he glanced over them. It looked like crime reports from around the mid to late 90s. Around Voldemort’s time. 

“What’s this?” he called, tapping the papers. “Doing a bit of research?”

Audrey glanced over her shoulder. “Um, yes. Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Give me a moment?”

Harry nodded and devoured his sandwich while she made two cups of tea and carefully brought them over. Once she had settled into her seat, he tapped the papers again, mouth too full to speak. 

“Right,” she said. “So I was thinking. This friend of yours, with the Muggle reparations project? Has she ever tried to create a comprehensive history of the war using that information? I mean, really cataloguing everything that happened, not just what happened to your lot?”

Harry frowned and swallowed his mouthful of sandwich. “You mean, assessing how the war affected the Muggle community?” he asked. “No, I don’t think that’s a project being worked on at the moment.”

“Well, it should be,” Audrey said firmly. “From what you said, a whole lot of people were affected by your little war. What it did to wizards isn’t the only relevant detail.” 

“That’s true,” Harry said. “I suppose I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Of course not. Why would you?” Audrey shrugged. “I don’t blame you, really. You must be so used to ignoring us.”

“We shouldn’t,” Harry said, guilt stirring in his chest. “Look, I’ll talk to Lisa. For what it’s worth, I think it’s a brilliant idea. If you give me names, I can start confirming things for you until we get a more official set-up.”

“Really?” Audrey set down her teacup. “I mean, this will have to wait until I’m finished with my thesis, but I think this could be really important.”

“I agree,” Harry said. “I bet Lisa and Hermione will too.”

“Brilliant,” Audrey said, smiling now. “Now come on, tell me where you’ve been the last few weeks. I’ve not seen hide nor hair of you, I was starting to believe you’d properly disappeared and I’d made the whole magic thing up.”

 

As Harry had guessed, Hermione thought the idea was brilliant. 

“Oh, that’s such a smart idea,” she said breathlessly. “You know, we really do need to understand what the human cost of the war was. You ought to bring her to the baby shower, Lisa will be there too. They should meet, talk a bit.”

“Baby shower?” Harry asked, mildly concerned. 

“Oh, don’t worry,” Hermione said. “I’ve already bought myself a gift from you. It was baby socks,” she added. “Non-gendered.”

“Naturally,” Harry said. 

Hermione’s baby shower was, predictably, held at the Burrow, and was absolutely full to the bursting. Every Weasley in the world was there, it seemed, and a fair number of classmates and co-workers. Audrey looked only mildly overwhelmed when she walked in behind Harry, holding a prettily-wrapped present. She had refused to tell Harry what she had gotten for Hermione, saying it was a “girl’s thing.” Harry wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to know. 

Ginny and Hermione welcomed Audrey with open arms, and she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Harry to wander around looking for someone to talk to. He said hello to Luna, who remarked that Hermione had better keep the baby away from nargles, kissed Fleur on the cheek in greeting, slapped Bill on the shoulder, and was talking to Neville about his current crop of students when he heard George’s voice, booming out, “Ah, the saviour of the wizarding world!”

“I should put that on my business cards,” Harry said, turning to shake his hand. George looked well, better every time Harry saw him. There were still times when he could tell George was turning to Fred to say something; but when George smiled now, it didn’t look forced. 

“You should,” George agreed. “How is my favourite investor doing?”

Harry and George fell deep into conversation, and Harry failed to notice that Audrey was trying to get his attention until she bodily grabbed his arm and started towing him away. “Sorry,” he said to George apologetically. “I suppose I’m needed.”

“You said you’d introduce me to this friend of yours,” Audrey said. “Now Hermione says she’s that one over there, the one with the short hair.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Harry said. “Lisa! I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

Lisa was there with her girlfriend, but she detached herself to come over. “You yelled?” she asked with a small, wry smile. Harry rolled his eyes and gently pushed Audrey forward. 

“Lisa, this is my friend Audrey Phillips,” Harry said. “She has a proposal for you.”

“Hi,” Audrey said, and without further ado she launched into a rather extensive explanation of her project. Harry bit his lip in an effort not to laugh at Lisa’s look of bemusement and then the slow dawn of appreciative approval. 

When Audrey had finished, Lisa looked over at Harry. "Audrey Phillips? Isn’t she the”

"Muggle, yes," said Audrey impatiently, practically bouncing in her excitement. "Do you think it's a worthy project or not?"

Lisa arched her dark eyebrows. "What will you get out of it? It's not as if you can publish it in your world."

"No," Audrey agreed easily, "but it's _important_ , don't you see? It's all well and good for you lot to preach about your tolerance of Muggleborns, but you need to understand what you did to _us_ and you don't. You can't."

“What she needs is access,” Harry put in. “I’m sure between the two of us we could arrange something, don’t you think?” 

Lisa started to smile. “Yes,” she said. “I rather think we could.”

 

“I do think it’s odd, you know,” Hermione said later as they were eating some of Mrs Weasley’s phenomenal cooking, “that for all we talk about Muggle-Wizard relations, there’s no real effort on our part to do anything about it. It all seems strangely one-sided at times.”

“Statute of Secrecy,” Ron said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. 

“Swallow, dear,” Hermione said. 

Ron swallowed. “Statute of Secrecy,” he repeated. “Muggles would go spare, wouldn’t they? Magic all about and that.”

“They might,” Hermione said. “They might not. Look at Audrey.” She nodded down the table to where Audrey had gotten into a spirited debate with Percy over the practice of obliviating Muggles. 

"But don't you see?” she was saying. “This is why Muggles fear magic! Because you use it against us and we have no defences against it."

"It's for our own safety," Percy protested.

"Please, like any of us could really overpower you," Audrey snorted. “Anyway, tell me more about potions. Is it anything like chemistry?”

“She’s going to end up writing her thesis on the chemistry of wolfsbane and get chucked out of school,” Harry said fondly. 

“I think Percy’s in love,” Ron said, squinting. “Look at him.”

He was right; Percy did seem in his element, enthusiastically explaining the basics of potions and how it was done, all while Audrey listened with rapt attention. Percy didn’t even notice George sneaking food off his plate. 

 

A year later, Percy and Audrey announced their engagement, and Audrey’s book was published—only in the Wizarding world, of course—to great acclaim. 

“It’s a funny old world we live in,” George mused after he’d read out the engagement announcement to Harry. “Perce, married to a Muggle. Never would have guessed it. If anyone went rebellious I’d have guessed Ginny.”

Harry dragged a pillow over his face and groaned. “Did you really have to wake me up at half-six to tell me _that_?”

“Some of us have to be at work at seven in the morning, darling.” George pulled the pillow away and leaned down to blow a loud raspberry on Harry’s cheek. “Not all of us can sleep in until the luxurious hour of eight a.m.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a very important man,” Harry said. 

“Yeah, yeah. Saviour of the wizarding world and all that.” George kissed him properly, thwacked him on the nose with the _Daily Prophet_ , and said, “I’m off. Have dinner waiting for me when I’m home, darling.”

“Sod off,” Harry said, grinning, and as George winked and Disapparated, Harry picked up the paper to look at the photo of a smiling Audrey and Percy. 

George was right about one thing: it was a funny old world. But Harry found he rather liked it.


End file.
